Agua de Valencia Cocktail Recipe
Cava with fresh orange juice, gin and vodka — served by the jug and far stronger than it tastes.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Wine glass
- ABV: 11%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Cava120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Fresh orange juice90 ml (3 oz)
- Gin20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Vodka20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Simple syrup10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Stir the orange juice, gin, vodka and syrup together in a jug with ice.
- Add the cava last and stir once, gently.
- Pour into a wine glass.
- Garnish with an orange slice.
Garnish
Orange slice
What it tastes like
It smells of lemon and lime peel, fruit notes come forward and it is carbonated.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A stemmed wine glass. The big bowl leaves room for ice and fruit, and gives the aroma somewhere to gather.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Fresh orange juice
- Fresh orange juice. Carton juice is sugar-adjusted, so it sweetens the drink and drops its acidity; when you squeeze your own, pull back a little on the syrup.
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Vodka
- Vodka brings body and alcohol rather than flavour; its job is to get out of the way of everything else. Which is why, in a vodka drink, how fresh the juice is matters far more than the brand.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
The Story
Mixed at Café Madrid in Valencia in 1959 for a group of Basque regulars who kept asking for something other than cava.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Agua de Valencia mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a wine glass.
- How strong is a Agua de Valencia?
- Roughly 11% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Agua de Valencia be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Agua de Valencia hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.